This blog post is very long overdue, but as a slightly longer read than usual, hopefully it sparks some thoughts of your own!
The world may be
nothing without people. But soon, it might be nothing with people.
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| Zaatari refugee camp, 2013, Guardian |
An unprecedented
number of people are currently leaving their homes in seek of safety, both in
and outside of Europe. Civil war and social unrest has prevented living rooms
of family time and eradicated the smells of home cooked foods. Houses where
children trod their first steps have been abandoned, because the necessity to
survive has taken over.
According to the
U.N, diaspora on this level has not been seen since World War II, with numbers
of displaced people reaching 11 million this month. If you ask a refugee of the
land they have been pushed from, the most frequent answer is Syria.
It is the
countries surrounding Syria that are taking the biggest hit. In Lebanon, every
1 in 5 people are Syrian refugees, and Turkey is currently hosting nearly 2
million people. Each of them has fallen victim to the worst civil war and
humanitarian disaster of our time.
The challenges
facing the international community have received widespread media coverage over
recent weeks; however, there are other consequences that need to be considered.
Accommodating for this mass of people has an environmental effect, which is
being neglected.
Refugee
settlements often occur in environmentally sensitive areas, and it has been
shown that large camps have a greater negative effect than a series of smaller
camps hosting the same number of people. There are many questions that arise
from this; what happens to human waste? What sustainable source of resources do
these people have to rely on? What are the long-term effects of the current
temporary safety measures? Refugees are being helped so they can survive in a
world we currently cannot maintain.
The issue of
human waste is one that can have the most immediate negative effect. If it is
not well regulated by efficient systems, the degradation of water quality that
results, will affect the health of a large group of people. In these
situations, where many people are housed within a close proximity, the already
high risk of infectious disease is increased.
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| Kenyan refugee camp, 2011, CNN |
However, it
should also be considered that changes in water quality have a detrimental influence
on eco systems. Poor quality water that is soaked through the ground has a
knock on effect for the eco systems that normally include the biodiversity
needed to produce plants and crops for food.
Further, many
will have little option other than to drink this water untreated. This can be
due to deforestation in surrounding areas that means people have to walk
further for fuel wood in order to boil water, and also cook food. This problem
quickly leads to malnutrition as well as disease. In addition, inadequate
shelter can result, as wood is used for supporting the plastic shelter sheets
that are provided.
The host area
also suffers. As resources become increasingly scarce, the construction of
local people becomes inhibited and food and fuel prices inevitably rise. The
possible solution of creating more, smaller camps would mean that fuel wood
collection is spread over a less concentrated area, and eco systems may
experience a less drastic change of conditions.
Provision of
quicker cooking food, such as maize, therefore requiring less fuel, can also
help. Nonetheless, the effects of deforestation are longer lasting than these
solutions, and spread further than the local land. Climate change is also an
issue that is resting heavy on the shoulders of governments around the world.
Environmental impacts
are of great importance. Not only in terms of managing the mass movement of
people, but in order to reduce the need to flee a once loved homeland in the
first place. Reports have shown that a key trigger for the 2011 Syrian uprising
was the 2007-2010 drought, which was the worst drought in instrumental history.
It had a huge
impact on a land that is usually incredibly fertile. This drought was most likely
caused, or at least enhanced, by climate change. Widespread crop failure and
therefore migration of farming families contributed to the cause of conflict. This
is by no means suggesting that the human impact on the environment has been the
sole contributor to such social unrest, as cultural and
economic factors cannot be over looked. However, it is definitely a perspective
that needs consideration. We have reached this detrimental level with an
average global temperature rise of just 1 degree Celsius; a fact made more
tragic by a large percentage of damaging emissions and fuel consumption
happening at the hand of economically developed countries, with better
scientific education.
It is no wonder
then, that the often poorer countries who will be most affected by climate
change are asking for at least $200 billion to create more efficient and
sustainable systems. As this article and the research behind it shows, the
downside of not creating the necessary action plan to stop the environmental
changes happening around us, do come full circle.
The refugees who are affected first hand and endure the sharp edge of the crisis, through no
fault of their own cause challenges for the environments and economies of
surrounding countries. Whether it is the people fleeing, or the citizens of the
host countries, it always seems to be those who should be protected that suffer
most. The relationship between the environment and wider socio-economic
problems needs to be given greater attention if refugee crises are ever to
become a thing of the past. The relationship between people and their world needs
to be built.
